Ban on Partially Hydrogenated Oils (PHO)

“Trans fatty acids” (TFAs) are a type of unsaturated fatty acids that have been commonly present in the food industry since the 1950s. There is now broad scientific consensus that high consumption of trans fats significantly increases the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), and may also be associated with increased risk of other cardiovascular diseases, obesity and type 2 diabetes.

The main dietary source of industrial trans fats are partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (PHO’s). The World Health Organization argues that the removal of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils from the food supply would result in substantial health benefits.

After determining in June 2015 that partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) were no longer “generally recognized as safe” for use in human food, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requested food manufacturers to remove them from products by June 2018.

Health Canada released a “Notice of proposal” to prohibit use of PHO’s from June 2018, aligning with FDA.

In Europe, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, Iceland, Hungary, Norway and Latvia have already set up a maximum limit 2g of trans fats per 100g of total fat content. Lithuania has recently drawn up a draft law. Voluntary measures to reduce TFA content are in place in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Greece. National dietary recommendations have been issued in Bulgaria, Malta, Slovakia, the UK and Finland.

Moving ahead of the forthcoming market demands, Lasenor’s synthetic emulsifiers are PHO-free. Do not hesitate to contact us for more information about replacement of emulsifiers made from Partially Hydrogenated Oils. We will be glad to assist.